Band Members
Brian Molko '''born December 10, 1972, in Brussels, Belgium, is a songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Placebo. Molko is and has been known for his bisexual orientation and androgynous appearance, as well as provocative lyrics. Early life Born to an American international banker father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish mother, Molko's family moved frequently during his childhood including spells in Scotland, Liberia, Lebanon and Luxembourg. Brian Molko has referred to a period spent in his mother's home town of Dundee, Scotland, as "where I grew up". He describes his childhood as a period when he felt very lonely and alienated; his first performing experiences were through acting in a school drama theater. While Molko was brought up in a strict household that disapproved of artistic expression (his father wanted him to become a banker) he rebelled by affecting an androgynous image, wearing nail polish lipstick and eyeliner, and listening to punk. Molko initially attended the European School of Luxembourg but had to leave due to excessive bullying; he later attended the American International School of Luxembourg (AISL)and went on to study drama at Goldsmiths College in London. '''Career' ' Molko and Stefan Olsdal had both attended AISL (though they were never friends); when Molko moved to London, he ran into Olsdal at South Kensington tube station and invited him to one of his gigs in a club, which he played with Steve Hewitt. During a XFM takeover show in December 2009 Molko mentioned that his biggest influence is Sonic Youth and that his band probably wouldn't exist without them. He also mentioned that at the age of seven Kiss was the first band he ever fell in love with. Other musical influences include Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Deus (band), Dead Kennedys, the Beastie Boys, Serge Gainsbourg, PJ Harvey, The Velvet Underground, Joy Division, The Stooges and The Pixies. More recent musical tastes include electro-clash artist Peaches, Queens of the Stone Age, Mogwai, The Cribs, Sad Gray and many others. Molko taught himself to play guitar; at the age of 16, he got a Telecaster replica as a present from his parents. Soon after, he bought a real Telecaster. He plays other instruments such as bass, harmonica, keyboard, saxophone, drums and turntables. Fluent in French due to his upbringing in Luxembourg, Molko has written and sung a few of Placebo's songs in French as well as English. He has also occasionally worked as a disc jockey at clubs. Along with Hewitt and Olsdal, he had a small role in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine, for which Placebo performed the T.Rex song "20th Century Boy". He played Malcolm, a singer of the fictional glam rock band, "The Flaming Creatures", who resembled the early Alice Cooper band. Personal life In October 2005, Molkol’s ex partner, Helena Berg, gave birth to his first child, Cody. He currently lives in east London, but frequently travels to Paris. Brian stated in a recent interview that he still sees his son frequently as a single father. In the same year, he was voted as 39th of the 50 sexiest rock stars by Kerrang! magazine readers. He is openly bisexual. Stefan Olsdal '''(born '''Stefan Alexander Bo Olsdal, 31 March 1974, Göteborg, Sweden) is the bassist/guitarist of the alternative rock band Placebo and is part of the electroni dance/DJ and remix act Hotel Persona. Biography He moved to Luxembourg when he was young and went to the American International School of Luxembourg along with fellow band member Brian Molko (though the two didn't cross paths at this time). Olsdal began playing music in his school's orchestra in 1987. He completed his high school education in Sweden and moved to London with his parents, where he attended the Musicians Institute. He is openly gay and in a relationship with a Spanish man he said he met one week before the band was formed. He came out publicly in an interview in Melody Maker in 1996. Placebo Olsdal met Molko by chance outside South Kensington tube station. The two of them formed Ashtray Heart, a lo-fi duo, playing mostly on toy instruments. They wrote four songs, but decided to try out as a serious band, so they invited Steve Hewitt who could not be in the band because he was already signed to another record company. After that, Olsdal invited old schoolmate Robert Schultzberg (who was at the time studying in UK) to join as Placebo's drummer (Hewitt would later replace him as the full-time drummer). Together with Molko, he is credited as co-author on every Placebo song to date (except "Ashtray Heart" from Battle for the Sun which was credited solely to Molko) and co-produced Black Market Music and some b-sides. Some of his stated influences are Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, ABBA, Iron Maiden, The Cure and David Bowie Hotel Persona Hotel Persona began when Olsdal and David Amen started providing dance tunes to friends' house parties; Javier Solo was recruited to sing Spanish vocals, and Olsdal sang the English versions. As the music was coming together, Olsdal and Amen did DJ work under the Hotel Persona name in such locations as Milan, Paris, London, Barcelona and Rio. They have also remixed songs by various bands, including Queens of the Stone Age, Placebo and She Wants Revenge. Their debut album In the Clouds was recorded and mixed in London, Madrid and New York over two years and features a wide array of additional vocals from various artists including Brian Molko, Samantha Fox, Miguel Bosé and Alaska of Fangoria. Equipment Olsdal uses a variety of instruments, including a Gibson Thunderbird (three of those, one vintage used since 2003,one modern black which replaced the Flying V in 2006 and one white used since 2009), Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Bass VI, Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Gretsch Anniversary. In live versions of "Teenage Angst", "Centerfolds" and most acoustic performances he uses a Technics keyboard. During the Meds era, he also used an Epiphone Flying V Bass for live performances of "Nancy Boy", "Come Home" and other occasional songs (mostly rarely played songs from the first album), which appeared on the Infra-red video, although this guitar was smashed by Olsdal at the end of their 2006 Reading Festival set. Recently, he is seen playing an olympic white Fender Jaguar Bass, in the "For What It's Worth" video, and is seen playing a white Rickenbacker bass in live performance on television programs. His amplification is a mixture of Ampeg (for basses) and Marshall (for guitars) amplifiers. He also plays the xylophone in acoustic performances of some songs from Meds ("Pierrot The Clown", "Post Blue"). In Hotel Persona live shows he mostly uses a Fender Telecaster also used when performing "Scared Of Girls", "Slave To The Wage" and "Evil Dildo". In the early years (1994-1996) he used Boss bass pedals when playing live, but this practice ended after Bill Lloyd became a full time touring member. Olsdal contributes backing vocals sparingly in Placebo's live performances and recordings as well as lead and backup vocals on most Hotel Persona tracks. SORRY THERE IS NO INFORMATION ABOUT STEVE FORREST (DRUMEST) !!!